MyDD :: StarTribune: 171 Vote Projected Franken Lead!

StarTribune: 171 Vote Projected Franken Lead!

by Hoomai29, Wed Dec 17, 2008 at 12:35:03 AM EST

While the counting of challenged ballots continues and there is still the issue of the inappropriately uncounted absentee ballots to be resolved by the Minnesota Supreme Court, it is VERY encouraging to see that the current Minneapolis Star-Tribune estimate for the result of the challenged ballots projects Franken to come out of the resolved challenges with a 171 vote lead. This is a big enough lead that the US Senate would probably seat Franken, pending the outcome of the court challenges.

These projections WILL be changed somewhat by the recount board, but they should be pretty good ballpark projections for a final total (without any votes added because of the uncounted absentee ballots). The good news is that the Star Tribune projections are much more optimistic than the Franken camp's projections, which estimated that Franken was up 8 votes total if all challenged ballots were allocated per the decision of the County recount official who first judged them.

http://senaterecount.startribune.com/bal lots

RACE AT A GLANCE - Close
Resolved challenges
Coleman    Franken    Other/no one Remaining
Current recount totals    95    19    38    6,742
Challenged by Coleman    3    06    00    3,088
Challenged by Franken    92    13    38    2,877
Ballot Challenge projection 2,897    3,256    413    0

Current vote totals

Coleman    Franken    Margin
Current Recount 1,209,030    1,208,766 Coleman 264
Projected After Recount 1,211,832    1,212,003    Franken 171

The Tribune projects that of a total of 6,566 total challenged ballots, Franken will receive 3,256 votes, Coleman will receive 2,897 votes and Other/No One will receive 413 votes. This would give Franken a 359 vote lead in the recount and combined with Coleman's current pre-recount lead of 188 votes would produce a Franken lead of 171 votes.

So, while there are probably still many twists and turns to come in the recount, things are looking very good for Al Franken's chances of winning Minnesota's Senate seat right now.

Poll

Votes: 9
Results : Vote Link : Polls

Tags: Al Franken, Norm Coleman, Minnesota Senate, Recount (all tags)

Permalink :: 9 Comments :: Post a Comment

Re: StarTribune: 171 Vote Projected Franken Lead! (none / 0)

Wonderful news!

by obama4presidente on Wed Dec 17, 2008 at 12:36:05 AM EST

Re: StarTribune: 171 Vote Projected Franken Lead! (none / 0)

I'm really, really keeping my fingers crossed.

"It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation for subtlety". Salvor Hardin

by Denny Crane on Wed Dec 17, 2008 at 01:27:49 AM EST

Re: StarTribune: 171 Vote Projected Franken Lead! (none / 0)

The Strib can be a little optimistic, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

King County (Seattle), WA already has a freakin special election on Feb. 3. Quebec just had a provincial election last week, and Canada could see another federal one early next year.

(because one country isn't enough politics to follow :P)

Give to Redistricting Project candidates for Democratic maps 2011-2021! http://www.actblue.com/page/redistrictin gproject

by Sandwich Repairman on Wed Dec 17, 2008 at 03:28:48 AM EST

The Strib endorsed Coleman (none / 0)

http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2008/ 10/star_tribune_en.php

I don't know what they were thinking, either, but if they're "optimistic," like you say, it'd be favoring Coleman.

You can't stop the signal.

President "That One"

by Dracomicron on Wed Dec 17, 2008 at 09:38:49 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: StarTribune: 171 Vote Projected Franken Lead! (2.00 / 1)

I think the Senate will seat Franken period, irrespective of the legal machinations that Coleman makes.

Thanks for staying on top of the story.

by MAL Contends on Wed Dec 17, 2008 at 07:38:58 AM EST

Re: StarTribune: 171 Vote Projected Franken Lead! (2.00 / 2)

I doubt that Reid has the balls to do this. Franken is going to have to do it on his own.

by Bob H on Wed Dec 17, 2008 at 07:45:26 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: StarTribune: 171 Vote Projected Franken Lead! (2.00 / 2)

I don't mean to be corny about it, but watching the elections board work I feel pretty confident that whoever wins in Minnesota, well, won. They do it right.

When you start out making the "slippery slope" argument, where do you draw the line?

by Jess81 on Wed Dec 17, 2008 at 09:18:06 AM EST

We're not Florida, that's for damn sure (none / 0)

The majority of Minnesotans* laregely don't care about partisanship, which is why we can have an Independant governor and the Veto Override Six.

You earn it here, you deserve it and you'll probably get it.

The best part about all this is that, even if Coleman wins, he gets to face an ethics probe.

* Notice I said "majority." There are still some places, like Bachmann's 6th District, and my district (Ellison's), where party does matter quite a lot.

You can't stop the signal.

President "That One"

by Dracomicron on Wed Dec 17, 2008 at 09:43:39 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: StarTribune: 171 Vote Projected Franken Lead! (none / 0)

As long as the improperly rejected absentee ballots are counted, I will feel that whoever wins did it fairly. The Senate won't have to get involved, we'd have avoided a crisis there. This is how you do a recount.

by Skaje on Wed Dec 17, 2008 at 03:10:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]

You are not logged in.

In order to post a comment, you must be logged in. If you have a member account, please log in to comment.

If not, you can make an account right here. It's quick and free.